Tag Archives: Gilead Support Path

When Gilead decided this week to curtail access to lifesaving
Hepatitis C drugs through its Support Path program, those living with
the disease – and itching for a cure – had mixed reactions.

“I’m so glad I live in New Zealand and don’t have to go through all
the bullshit some of you do!” said the member of one patient
community.

“Insurance companies need to be covering these drugs,” said
another. “Gilead is offering the patient assistant program on its dime.
There is no obligation on it to maintain this program. We need to push
insurers to start covering the treatments. We pay for insurance for a
reason.”

“In many countries across the world, they don’t have an insurance
system,” she explained during the interview Sunday evening with HCV
Advocate daily. “We need to look for companies to set more equitable
pricing. But even here in the U.S., I disagree with that statement.
Even as insurance companies take on exorbitant and overpriced drugs,
the more the system has to bear that cost. And the cost ultimately is
passed along to the consumer.”

In explaining its decision, Gilead makes the case that insurers
need to begin paying for these drugs. It says it no longer will help
patients whose insurers make restrictions based on low fibrosis scores.
So, to answer the questions so many ask: Correct, you can’t get
these drugs unless you’re sick enough. And now it’s going to be even
harder.

And if you’ve got mental or substance abuse problems and your
insurer denies you? Gilead no longer will help in those cases either.

Carrie Yohe Johnson is a person with Hepatitis C in State College,
Penn. She can’t get the drugs because her fibrosis score is 0. But her
viral load is high.

She got the disease from her mother. Yohe has two children, both
HCV-negative. She didn’t know she had the disease when she had the
first child; she had a very low viral load when she had the second.
But she’d like to have a third child. Even though only 5 to 6
percent of mothers pass along Hepatitis C during childbirth, it’s still
a risk most don’t care to take.

I’m a healthy person. I’ve never done drugs. I haven’t drank
alcohol since discovering my illness (not that I really ever was a
drinker). I live a healthy life,” Yohe explained. “I’ve had one partner
my whole life (my husband). I have young children and I teach
preschool. I constantly worry about accidentally infecting others or
whether or not my liver and body will last. Or if this disease will
begin to attack my kidneys and heart as it has shown to do…before my
insurance finally gives the meds. I don’t think it’s fair that I have to
wait for a cure.”

So what can people like Yohe do? Lobby their members of Congress.

“Citizens can advocate by saying that we want to see transparence
in the cost of drug development, and to mandate disclosures,”
Radhakrishnan said. “The patient system is really broken, and the
companies are way too powerful in terms of reforming laws in their
favor. Their needs to be more citizen participation in the process to
safeguard patient rights.”

When Gilead decided this week to curtail access to lifesaving Hepatitis C drugs through its Support Path program, those living with the disease – and itching for a cure – had mixed reactions.

“I’m so glad I live in New Zealand and don’t have to go through all the bullshit some of you do!” said the member of one patient community.

“Insurance companies need to be covering these drugs,” said another. “Gilead is offering the patient assistant program on its dime. There is no obligation on it to maintain this program. We need to push insurers to start covering the treatments. We pay for insurance for a reason.”

“In many countries across the world, they don’t have an insurance system,” she explained during the interview Sunday evening with HCV Advocate daily. “We need to look for companies to set more equitable pricing. But even here in the U.S., I disagree with that statement. Even as insurance companies take on exorbitant and overpriced drugs, the more the system has to bear that cost. And the cost ultimately is passed along to the consumer.”

In explaining its decision, Gilead makes the case that insurers need to begin paying for these drugs. It says it no longer will help patients whose insurers make restrictions based on low fibrosis scores.So, to answer the questions so many ask: Correct, you can’t get these drugs unless you’re sick enough. And now it’s going to be even harder.

And if you’ve got mental or substance abuse problems and your insurer denies you? Gilead no longer will help in those cases either.

Carrie Yohe Johnson is a person with Hepatitis C in State College, Penn. She can’t get the drugs because her fibrosis score is 0. But her viral load is high.

She got the disease from her mother. Yohe has two children, both HCV-negative. She didn’t know she had the disease when she had the first child; she had a very low viral load when she had the second.But she’d like to have a third child. Even though only 5 to 6 percent of mothers pass along Hepatitis C during childbirth, it’s still a risk most don’t care to take.

I’m a healthy person. I’ve never done drugs. I haven’t drank alcohol since discovering my illness (not that I really ever was a drinker). I live a healthy life,” Yohe explained. “I’ve had one partner my whole life (my husband). I have young children and I teach preschool. I constantly worry about accidentally infecting others or whether or not my liver and body will last. Or if this disease will begin to attack my kidneys and heart as it has shown to do…before my insurance finally gives the meds. I don’t think it’s fair that I have to wait for a cure.”

So what can people like Yohe do? Lobby their members of Congress.

“Citizens can advocate by saying that we want to see transparence in the cost of drug development, and to mandate disclosures,” Radhakrishnan said. “The patient system is really broken, and the companies are way too powerful in terms of reforming laws in their favor. Their needs to be more citizen participation in the process to safeguard patient rights.”

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